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Delighted to welcome author Jaye Marie to the Sunday Interview.. Jaye lives with her sister-in-law, author Anita Dawes and they team up and spend time and effort in sharing our posts on social media.

Before we find out which of the questions Jaye has chosen to answer.. here is a little more about her.

Most people may know me as one-half of the writing partnership, Anita & Jaye Dawes, and I have come to writing quite late in life. I always used to think I didn’t have an ambitious bone in my body, content to potter about with my many craft hobbies. Always preferring to be in the background and invisible if at all possible.

And for the last ten years since my retirement, that’s what my life has been like. I love books and have read my way through stacks of them, so when my sister-in-law Anita needed someone to edit and type up her manuscripts, I was happy to help and that’s when I discovered my vocation.

Then one day everyone was talking about “Indie” or self-publishing. Now, I knew only too well how hard it was to be published the traditional way, so I became very excited at the prospect of being able to do it ourselves.

At first, I concentrated on publishing Anita’s books. It wasn’t quite as easy as they made it sound, but with my usual stubbornness I kept at it, learning more and more as I went along, and somewhere along the way I starting thinking about a story that had been nibbling away in the corner of my mind for months.

I tried to ignore it, but before too long, The Ninth Life demanded to be written and turned out to be a Mystery/Thriller. I am reasonably pleased with the outcome, basically to be honest, because my characters took charge and practically wrote it for me! They had quite a say with the sequel too, and I am proud of our achievements!

I also enjoy running a website/blog and all the wonderful people I continue to meet from all around the world. I learn something new every single day and it is much appreciated.

More about Jaye’s books a little later… but first time to get to know her better.

Welcome Jaye and perhaps we could start by finding out what you consider to be your favourite Book

As a child, I was a prolific reader. I would read anything, including several things I shouldn’t have. When I was in the hospital with appendicitis, I read every book in the ward.
The one book that still haunts me, is an illustrated copy of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
The story enthralled me, but it was the beautiful illustrations that filled my dreams. They brought the story to life so well, that the nightmares in Jane Eyre’s life quickly haunted my dreams too. I have tried to find another copy of this book, as the drawings were exquisite, but so far I haven’t managed to track one down. There were so many illustrated versions, so surely the one I remember so well must be out there somewhere?

Sally here: I found this one on Amazon Jaye..I loved the cover… link is attached…

What was the one thing you could never learn how to do no matter how hard you tried?

I grew up listening to tales of my father playing the piano. How he would come home on leave from the army, and still in uniform and huge army boots, he would pound out all the popular tunes of the day.

By all accounts, I was supposed to be the image of my dad, tall and cheeky, and always optimistic. So in the beginning, I assumed I would be able to play the piano too. But despite countless lessons from some of the best teachers, I just couldn’t do it. I could pick out a tune with one hand, but that wasn’t enough for me.

I wanted to play like the classical pianists. All those powerful pieces that had always stirred my heart, and had my blood racing, but it wasn’t to be. The desire has never left me though…

Sally here: sorry that didn’t work out for you Jaye, but to cheer you up here is that incredible pianist and humourist… Victor Borge.

If you could choose a different career, what would it be and why?

When I was a child I wanted to be many things when I grew up. I hovered between being a film star, a doctor or a hairdresser. I honestly thought I could be any of them, given a following wind and a liberal amount of determination.

It wasn’t until much later that I narrowed it down to the medical profession. Probably because I had exhausted most of the others. The desire to be a famous actress quickly faded when I realised I didn’t have any of the necessary qualifications, like good looks and a modicum of acting ability.

In my heart, I still want to be a doctor and I think I would have been a good one, just a shame that life got in the way!

What is something you look forward to when you retire?

I always imagined my retirement would be a time of peace and tranquillity, a welcome change from the chaos of my working life.

I would be living in a delightful cottage in the New Forest, surrounded by trees and wildlife.
My days would be spent tending my garden or making jam or other preserves. There would be plenty of time for reading, sewing or knitting. Maybe a little watercolour painting.

But I don’t have the cottage in the forest and my days are busy with writing and blogging a completely different retirement from the one I planned.

We have had to make the best out of what life has given us, even though it was difficult in the beginning.

The joke is on me; for I prefer the retirement I have now. The dream will have to wait for me…

Sally here: In the meantime Jaye… here is a cottage you can pin on the wall…

If you were granted three wishes what would they be?

This is the stuff that fairy stories are usually made of.

Without giving it too much thought, I would probably wish for a lovely house, enough money in the bank and be slim and healthy.

But are these wishes good enough?

I mean, it’s not every day you get given three wishes, is it?

With a bit more thought, I might ask for health, wealth and happiness for my friends and family, but these sound too flippant as though I hadn’t given the matter any thought at all.

I just asked Anita what she would choose, and straight away she said that good health was important, for without it nothing else would matter.

She then said that harmony was important too. If everything in your life was in harmony, you wouldn’t have many problems.

Finally, she said that she would ask for good fortune, for unlike money or wealth, good fortune in all things would create a wonderful life.

I could agree with all of this, although I might ask for a peaceful end when my time runs out…

Wishing you everything that you have on your list Jaye and thank you for sharing your life with us today.

I hadn’t read the previous novel about Kate, so knew nothing about her, but Kate knows nothing about herself either when she wakes up. This is a thriller with no heroes, the Snowman is desperate to help her and it seems at last he can., but it is not to be. If this was a television thriller the Snowman would save the day, but the story becomes more complex. We follow the killer’s thoughts as well as the other main characters, an advantage of books over screens. The reader will never sympathise, but we might comprehend what’s going on in Jack’s mind. Michael is another character who we think might save the day, but he is a mix of flaws and must face up to the grief he has caused the woman he loved and the other woman who loves him.

This is not a novel for the faint hearted; what starts as a mystery of unconnected murders is also the story of those unfotunate enough to be in the path of a killer or know his intended victim. We know from the news that bizarre killings can occur when a murderer becomes obsessed and this murderer is obsessed with Kate.

About Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

My name is Sally Cronin and I am doing what I love.. Writing. Books, short stories, Haiku and blog posts. My previous jobs are only relevant in as much as they have gifted me with a wonderful filing cabinet of memories and experiences which are very useful when putting pen to paper. I move between non-fiction health books and posts and fairy stories, romance and humour. I love variety which is why I called my blog Smorgasbord Invitation and you will find a wide range of subjects. You can find the whole story here.
Find out more at https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/about-me/

Fabulous learning some secret tidbits about Jaye here today. That’s my motto, health before anything because without it, nothing else matters. 🙂 And I think Jaye has learned that once we’re stuck writing, there is no retirement, lol. 🙂 ❤

You are right about our household being lively, especially when discussing plots. We are so alike, yet so very different about a lot of things. Never boring around here! Thanks again for reposting your review of Out of Time!

I would have loved that too, Annette. If I wasn’t so old, I would have done something about being a doctor. As for the piano, at least I can listen to my favourite concertos, very loud, to drive the neighbours (and Anita) nuts!

Sally made some perfect choices for my alternative retirement. The cottage is lovely and I love listening to Victor Borge. He mucks about a bit, but he plays the piano like a maestro! Glad to meet you in person, Balroop!

Thanks, Sally. I have read one of Anita’s novels and thoroughly enjoyed it but did not know much about Jaye. I’m even more intrigued now. Great post and best of luck to Jaye (and to Anita, of course). All the best.

Running behind again, as seems to be the case a lot these days, but I still enjoyed this post, Sally and Jaye. So nice to get to know you a bit better, Jaye, and especially hearing you talk about your dreams and three wishes. I hope you continue to enjoy the way your retirement has worked out, even without the cottage in the woods. (I’d take one of those, too, if I could figure out a way to get it, only mine would be in the North Carolina mountains, just down the road apiece from Rabbit & Crew.) 😀 Sharing!

Thanks, Sally. I’ll be reblogging each one on TWS, and there will only be one per day, spread over the next week or so. I really appreciate your help in getting the word out. But I’m glad I found a few minutes to read this post, for sure! 🙂